Low-profile billionaire Peter Thiel funds Paul’s super PAC

WASHINGTON — Ron Paul revels in the fact that he is the presidential candidate of America’s small donors, receiving more contributions under $200 than any other Republican seeking the White House in 2012.

But, like every other GOP presidential contender, he also has a mega-millionaire helping to fund a super PAC that promotes his candidacy.

Peter Thiel co-founded PayPal and was an early investor in Facebook. (GDA via AP Images)

Yet while Newt Gingrich underwriter Sheldon Adelson and Rick Santorum super-supporter Foster Friess have shared the campaign stage — and the national political spotlight — with their candidates, Paul’s benefactor, California entrepreneur Peter Thiel, has never met the Texas lawmaker he’s aiding.

Who is this mystery man who has donated $2.6 million to Endorse Liberty, the pro-Paul super PAC that has produced several viral videos and sponsored sharp attack ads against Santorum, Gingrich and former candidate Texas Gov. Rick Perry?

Thiel, 44, is a low-profile libertarian from San Francisco with a background as quirky as the candidate he supports.

PayPal co-founder

Born in Germany, he’s a self-made billionaire who became a chess master as a child, majored in philosophy at Stanford University and founded a conservative-libertarian publication at Stanford to “present alternate views” on a campus he felt was dominated by liberals.

He’s a lawyer who co-founded PayPal, invested early in Facebook (he was portrayed by actor Wallace Langham in the Academy Award-winning The Social Network), dabbled in Hollywood (as executive producer of the Washington satire Thank You for Smoking), ran a venture capital firm that saw the potential in start-ups such as LinkedIn and Yelp, and now serves as president of a global hedge fund, Clarion Capital.

He is a strong supporter of unfettered capitalism, an aggressive critic of “political correctness” and a generous donor to Republicans. He has made direct contributions to Paul, as well as his son, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, and Texas Sen. John Cornyn and Texas Senate candidate Ted Cruz.

But the California billionaire is not your stereotypical conservative Republican. He’s a proud gay Christian who has supported a wide range of causes including gay rights, freedom of the press, anti-aging research and artificial intelligence. He’s funded a “seasteading” foundation that wants to create artificial, self-governing islands some 200 miles off the California coast to serve as experiments in innovative political, social and legal systems.

“He is one of the most interesting people that you’d ever meet,” said Jimmy LaSalvia, executive director of GOProud, a group of gay conservatives that has received fundraising help from Thiel and conservative commentator Ann Coulter. “He has great insight. He also is inquisitive, and most of the conversations I’ve had with him have been him asking questions. He gathers a lot of information.”

Thiel’s associates say that once he gathers information on a subject, he acts decisively.

He has done that with the pro-Paul super PAC, Endorse Liberty. After a 30-minute meeting at Thiel’s San Francisco home, he agreed to aid the cause. Federal Election Commission documents reveal that he is responsible for more than half of the super PAC’s proceeds.

“I think Peter has a gift for seeing trends,” said Endorse Liberty founder Jeffrey Harmon, a Utah entrepreneur. “PayPal and Peter’s early investment in Facebook are examples of the vision. I believe Peter can see that Ron Paul is the future of the Republican Party.”

His approach to life

Thiel declined an interview request for this article.

Thiel says his approach to life is wrapped up in his favorite question for job applicants: “What do you believe is true that almost nobody agrees with you on?”

“That’s probably a good starting point to find something that’s valuable and is undervalued,” he said in a recent speech to Students for Liberty, a group of young libertarians.

John Dennis, a San Francisco businessman and Paul supporter, says Thiel is “broadly respected” on the right for his libertarian views. Dennis talks about his fellow Bay Area Republican as a potential Republican Senate candidate at some point.

Dennis is challenging House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi in her San Francisco-based House district this year.

Critical assessments

But Thiel has his detractors, too.

“You’re only a genius if people don’t know about your bad bets,” said Wade Randlett, a major Silicon Valley fundraiser and bundler for President Baraack Obama’s re-election campaign. “He started his own hedge fund, which lost a gigantic amount of his own money. He had all of his bets on oil (prices) going up and up and up. And everyone thought it would happen — but then the financial crisis hit (in 2008) and because of housing, oil goes down to $38 a barrel and wipes out his fund.”

Thiel also has been criticized by some on the left for the alleged “cyber-espionage” work done by a company he launched. San Francisco blogger Lee Fang blames the company, Palantir Technologies, for hacking into computers of liberal nonprofit organizations and reporters, including his own, after they criticized secret fundraising by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Palantir’s alleged role “should come as a shock and disappointment to (Paul’s) followers,” the left-wing magazine The Nation declared recently.

Carla Marinucci of the San Francisco Chronicle also contributed to this report.